Murray goes out with a whimper at Queen's

After 19 consecutive victories on grass, Andy Murray's winning streak came to a shock end as the defence of his Queen's title went out with a whimper in a third-round defeat to Radek Stepanek.

Murray had not tasted defeat on the surface since losing to Roger Federer in the 2012 Wimbledon final, a run that encompassed a gold medal at the London 2012 Olympics and his Queen's-Wimbledon double last year.

With new coach Amelie Mauresmo watching on, Murray looked out-of-sorts throughout and will have to wait to become the 10th active player to reach the landmark of 450 tour-level wins, after going down 7-6(10) 6-2 in six minutes shy of two hours.

Murray, who had been seeking a record-equalling fourth Queen's title, was guilty of taking too casual an approach. He won just 64 percent of points behind his first serve, having won 92 percent in his victory over Paul Henri-Mathieu on Wednesday, and took just four points off Stepanek's first serve in the world No.42's 10 service games.